Auricular Acupuncture for Post-Op Pain Control

Here is an interesting review paper that looked at whether auricular acupuncture is effective for reducing post-operative pain.   Auricular acupuncture is acupuncture on only the ear.   The ear contains a hologram of the entire body where certain ear acupuncture points correspond to body point.   Ear acupuncture is most well known for the treatment of drug detoxification and smoking cessation.  However it can also be used to manage pain.I do not practice soley auricular acupuncture, but use it in conjunction with my regular acupuncture treatments.    I find it can be very effective for certain pain conditions.    In this particular acupuncture paper they looked at 9 studies and determined that the results look promising in terms of managing post operative pain.   However they were convinced that it is truly effective. I would suggest that using body points as well as leaving acupuncture press balls and magnets in the ear would further help reduce pain.  It certainly seems to be effective clinically, although it is hard to recreate a true clinical scenario as a randomized control trial.   Also there are many styles of acupuncture and what is effective or comfortable for one person may not work for another.
In Health,
George Mandler
Licensed Acupuncturist
Licensed Dietitian / Nutritionist
Maynard, MA & Cambridge, MA